Novak Djokovic will return to action on day eight at Wimbledon after the curfew curtailed his charge for victory on Sunday while number one seed Carlos Alcaraz will face his toughest test yet.
Elsewhere on a day that used to be called ‘Manic Monday’ – when all the fourth-round singles matches would be scheduled – last year’s beaten finalist Ons Jabeur tackles two-time champion Petra Kvitova while 16-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva tackles Madison Keys.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what day eight has in store.
Match of the Day
Matteo Berrettini has had a tough time of it lately, having missed out on Wimbledon last year due to coronavirus and then injury ruining much of his 2023 campaign.
But the 2021 finalist is back and on the form he has shown so far looks more than capable of heading deep into this second week of the tournament.
However, there is the small matter of the world number one standing in his way.
Carlos Alcaraz, who won at Queen’s, is looking the real deal so far, so this fourth-round contest has the potential to be a classic.
Kvitova will have to be Ons it
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Petra Kvitova is rolling back the years and enjoying a long run in SW19.
The Czech player has got to the last-16 six times and she ended up as champion twice, reached the quarter-finals twice and the semi-final once.
Her run this year is a bit of an anomaly as it is just the second time she has got to this stage since her second title in 2014.
She will have her work cut out to get to the next stage as she is up against Ons Jabeur, who is looking to go one better than her runners-up spot last year.
Andreeva’s emergence continues
Mirra Andreeva is the youngest player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Coco Gauff in 2019 as her star continues to rise.
At 16 she is the youngest player in the women’s draw and proved her breakout run at the French Open was no fluke, having come through qualifying.
Maddison Keys is up next and the American is playing some nice tennis, having won in Eastbourne in the final warm-up tournament, so a fascinating match awaits.
Order of play
Centre Court
Elena Rybakina v Beatriz Haddad Maia
Novak Djokovic v Hubert Hurkacz (Djokovic leads 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6))
Ons Jabeur v Petra Kvitova
Carlos Alcaraz v Matteo BerrettiniCourt One
Daniil Medvedev v Jiri Lehecka
Aryna Sabalenka v Ekaterina Alexandrova
Grigor Dimitrov v Holger Rune
Weather
Cloudy but generally fine
Novak Djokovic will have to cancel his day off and work overtime after falling foul of Wimbledon’s stubborn scheduling.
The defending champion and title favourite was leading by two sets, 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6), against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz when play was suspended at 10.35pm.
Wimbledon chiefs will again be under scrutiny for their insistence on starting play no earlier than 1.30pm on Centre Court despite knowing it cannot go past the council-imposed 11pm curfew.
Andrey Rublev’s five-set win over Alexander Bublik took three hours and 17 minutes, before Iga Swiatek beat Belinda Bencic in three sets, two of which were tie-breaks, which also took just over three hours.
Therefore seven-time champion Djokovic – who finished his match against Stan Wawrinka at 10.46pm on Friday night – and Hurkacz finally walked on to court at 8.41pm.
By the time the pre-match niceties, the coin toss and the warm-up were complete, Hurkacz hit the first serve of the fourth-round match at 8.49pm, giving Djokovic less than two-and-a-quarter hours to avoid having to come back on Monday.
Not that that would be beyond the 23-time grand slam champion against many players, but Hurkacz is the 17th seed, the man who ended Roger Federer’s Wimbledon career two years ago and who has not dropped serve so far this fortnight.
So, like Andy Murray on Friday, Djokovic will have to return in the afternoon and be crowbarred second into the Centre Court schedule.
Understandably, both players looked like they were in a hurry. There was scarcely a rally of more than four shots as the first set thundered towards a tie-break in just 36 minutes.
Djokovic rarely loses a tie-break. He has won all three he has faced this week, but an uncharacteristic double-fault gave Hurkacz the advantage at 4-3.
The underdog hammered down two aces to earn three set points, but two went by the wayside on the Djokovic serve before three unforced errors gifted Djokovic the set.
Djokovic fashioned three break points at 4-3 in the second but they were snuffed out by 134 and 139 mph aces and a 138 mph serve which Djokovic could only send long.
A fourth break point should have been taken with Hurkacz stranded mid-court having looped a defensive volley into the air, but Djokovic tried to be too cute and pushed it wide, almost toppling over the net as he did so.
In the inevitable tie-break, Djokovic squandered a set point after a rally broke out when he sent a forehand long, but he converted the next one to take a two-set lead before referee Gerry Armstrong came out to give everybody the predictable bad news.
Victoria Azarenka branded Wimbledon fans “drunk” and not “fair” after she was booed off court following a fourth-round loss to Elina Svitolina.
It was the first clash between a Russian or Belarusian player and a Ukrainian at Wimbledon since the lifting of last year’s ban on competitors from the aggressor nations.
The crowd, who had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout, produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open, where she also made the last eight, for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together in annoyance as she walked off.
“I can’t control the crowd,” she said. “I’m not sure that a lot of people were understanding what’s happening. It’s probably been a lot of Pimm’s throughout the day. It wasn’t fair. What can I do?
“I feel like it’s been pretty consistent for the last 18, 19 months. I haven’t done anything wrong but I keep getting different treatment sometimes.
“She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision. What should I have done? Stayed and waited? There’s no thing that I could do that would have been right, so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her decision.
“But this conversation about shaking hands is not a life-changing conversation. So if you guys want to keep talking about it, bring it up, make it a big deal, headlines, whatever it is, keep going.
“I thought it was a great tennis match. If people are going to be focusing only on handshakes or a quite drunk crowd, booing in the end, that’s a shame.”
The reaction was even more vociferous than in Paris, and Svitolina believes the situation should be spelled out ahead of such contests.
“I think the tennis organisations, they have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players,” she said.
“I already said multiple times that, until Russian troops are out of Ukraine and we take back our territories, I’m not going to shake hands. I don’t know how more clear I can be.”
It did not look like it was going to be Svitolina’s day when she trailed by a set and 2-0 but, spurred on by the crowd, some of whom shouted Slava Ukraini – glory to Ukraine – she mounted a comeback.
It was Azarenka’s turn to fight back from 3-0 down in the deciding set and the light was fading when they entered a tense deciding tie-break.
Belarusian Azarenka, the 19th seed, led 7-4 and looked on course for victory but Svitolina recovered to create two match points, taking the second with an ace to set up a clash against top seed Iga Swiatek.
Svitolina, who had lost all her previous five matches against Azarenka, only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October, and she beamed as she said in her on-court interview: “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second happiest moment in my life.
“It was a really tough match. When I was 0-2 down in the second set I heard you guys cheering for me and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You guys gave me so much strength today.”
Svitolina also drew strength from thinking of the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking back home there are lots of people that are watching and cheering for me, I know how much it means for them.
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“Any moments that they can share of happiness. I was thinking there is tough times in Ukraine and I’m here playing in front of you guys. I cannot complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the match.”
She added later: “I feel responsibility, as well. So, if I’m going out to play this match against a Russian, Belarusian, I feel of course more pressure that I need to win. That’s why it means a lot to get these kinds of wins. In my own way, to bring this small victory to Ukraine.
“I heard a lot of Ukrainian people in the crowd. This was really special. And the crowd was amazing, was a really unbelievable feeling. I think one of the best atmospheres that I ever played in.”
On a lighter note, the 28-year-old revealed ahead of the match that her Wimbledon run meant she had to give away tickets to the Harry Styles concert she had planned to attend.
“I hope Harry is watching,” she said. “I’m a big fan of his.”
Styles was clearly aware of her accomplishment as he wrote to her on Instagram: “Congratulations! We have four shows to go, you’re welcome at any of them. Good luck with the rest of the tournament.”
Elina Svitolina’s memorable win over Victoria Azarenka capped a dramatic middle Sunday at Wimbledon.
Svitolina won a deciding tie-break on Court One, while Iga Swiatek saved two match points to survive against Belinda Bencic and Andrey Rublev emerged triumphant in a near three-and-a-half-hour battle with Alexander Bublik.
But the Wimbledon curfew came into play once again as Novak Djokovic was forced off when leading Hubert Hurkacz two sets to love.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day seven unfolded.
Azarenka boos tarnish classic match
Belarusian Victoria Azarenka left Court One to a chorus of boos after losing a dramatic fourth-round contest to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The crowd had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout and produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together as she walked off.
Tweet of the dayIga for success after narrow escape
World number one Iga Swiatek outlined her title credentials after she saved two match points to come through a marathon match with Belinda Bencic and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Swiatek looked down and out at 5-6 in the second set, but she produced her best tennis with two sumptuous winners to turn the tie around.
The four-time grand slam champion continued to be pushed all the way by Olympic gold-medallist Bencic in a tense third set before she eventually prevailed 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2) 6-3 after a three-hour epic on Centre Court.
It sent Swiatek through to the last-eight at SW19 for the first time and having won the junior title here previously, she will march on with renewed belief this could be her year on her least favoured surface.
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Belarusian Victoria Azarenka left Court One to a chorus of boos after losing a dramatic fourth-round contest to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The crowd had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout and produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together as she walked off.
Svitolina only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October, and she beamed as she said in her on-court interview: “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second fabulous moment in my life.
“It was a really tough match. When I was 0-2 down in the second set I heard you guys cheering for me and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You guys gave me so much strength today.”
Svitolina also drew strength from thinking of the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking back home there are lots of people that are watching and cheering for me, I know how much it means for them.
“Any moments that they can share of happiness. I was thinking there is tough times in Ukraine and I’m here playing in front of you guys. I cannot complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the match.”
These were the final two mothers left in the singles draw but there was certainly no maternal bond here.
Svitolina spoke before the contest about her “big motivation” to beat Azarenka “for my country”, and the pair did not even look at each other at the coin toss ahead of what was the first clash between Ukrainian and Russian or Belarusian players since the beginning of the war and the lifting of last year’s ban.
Svitolina has made a very impressive return to the sport, including a run to the quarter-finals of the French Open, where three times she faced Russian or Belarusian players.
A couple of small Ukraine flags being waved as the players walked out onto Court One were the only initial indication of the political tension behind this contest.
But it quickly became clear the crowd were firmly behind Svitolina and in the fourth game a loud cry of Slava Ukraini – glory to Ukraine – was heard and applauded by sections of fans.
On the court, things were not going so well for Svitolina, who in her time away from the sport took an active role in leading fundraising efforts for Ukraine, including meeting with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
She had lost all five of her previous matches against Azarenka and, although most of the games were close, it was the Belarusian largely coming out on top.
Svitolina was staring at a swift defeat when she trailed 2-0 in the second set but the former world number three has returned to the tour with a much more aggressive mindset and she levelled things up before pushing to try to force a decider.
The 28-year-old has spoken warmly about the support her country has received from the UK, with Wimbledon funding accommodation and training facilities, and she must have felt as if she was playing at home.
A huge roar greeted the arrival of a set point, then an equally big groan when she shanked a forehand, but a second chance arrived and Svitolina, a semi-finalist here back in 2019, converted.
At 3-0 up in the deciding set, the Ukrainian looked to be on her way to victory but back came Azarenka and the light was fading fast as they approached the denouement.
Svitolina then fought back from 4-7 in a tense deciding tie-break, finally clinching it 11-9 on her second match point and dropping to the turf in delight.
On a lighter note, the 28-year-old revealed ahead of the match that her Wimbledon run meant she had to give away tickets to the Harry Styles concert she had planned to attend.
“I hope Harry is watching,” she said. “I’m a big fan of his.”
World number one Iga Swiatek saved two match points to come through a marathon match with Belinda Bencic and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.
Swiatek looked down and out when the score read 15-40 on her serve at 5-6 in the second set, but she produced her best tennis with two sumptuous winners to turn the tie around.
The four-time grand slam champion continued to be pushed all the way by Olympic gold-medallist Bencic in a tense third set before she eventually prevailed 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2) 6-3 after a three-hour epic on Centre Court.
It sent Swiatek through to the last-eight at the All England Club for the first time and having won the junior title at SW19 previously, she will march on with renewed belief this could be her year on her least favoured surface.
Top seed Swiatek had reached the fourth-round without dropping a set but experienced trouble early on against Bencic, being forced to take a medical time-out after only three games due to a blister.
It did not seem to affect the three-time French Open winner and she remained largely in control until Bencic turned the tables in the tie-break.
Bencic saved two set points in the 10th game before she clinched the first set after 66 minutes.
Swiatek left the court and returned determined to avoid another exit before the second week in England, with a sweet forehand return earning a break after a nine-minute opening game.
There remained a steel about Tokyo 2020 champion Bencic, who broke back to make it 3-3 and then had victory within her grasp when 15-40 up at 6-5.
Faced with losing at Wimbledon in the fourth round again, Swiatek came out swinging, producing equally brilliant forehand and backhand winners before she repeated the trick to take the second tie-break.
If Swiatek thought she had chipped away at Bencic’s armour, she was initially wrong with the Swiss right-hander able to force another break point chance early in the third.
After Swiatek dug deep to hold again, the resistance was finally broken with back-to-back double faults by the 14th seed.
More drama was to follow with Swiatek going 0-30 down when serving for the match, but she responded in style with two passing forehand winners sealing her spot in the last-eight.
Swiatek, who played two tie-breaks in the same match for the first time, said in her on-court interview: “Well, it wasn’t easy obviously.
“She had match point right? So, I don’t know if that ever happen in my career, being back from match point down, but I am really happy.
“I feel I needed that win to believe in myself a little more on this surface.
“Every day my love is getting bigger so hopefully I am going to have as many days as possible to play on this court.”
Earlier, fourth seed Jessica Pegula progressed into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time with a straight-sets win over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
Pegula raced into a 4-0 lead inside quarter of an hour and wrapped up the first set 6-1.
Tsurenko had come through the longest tie-break in women’s grand slam history on Friday to make the fourth round, but struggled to handle this occasion.
Pegula sealed victory with a superb backhand winner – only awarded after she challenged the out call – and made the last-eight of a grand-slam for the fifth time from her last seven appearances with a 6-1 6-3 win.
“I’m glad I challenged it,” Pegula said on-court. “I was just glad I was able to keep up the momentum.”
Next up for Pegula is a quarter-final clash with Marketa Vondrousova, who dug deep to win the all-Czech encounter with Marie Bouzkova in three sets.
World number 42 Vondrousova had only made it past the fourth round at a major once before, when she won the French Open in 2019, but reached the last-eight with a gusty 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory.
Jamie Murray was forced to do press-ups as a punishment by his hardline partner Taylor Townsend after their mixed doubles win at Wimbledon.
Britain’s Murray and American Townsend needed two tie-breaks, the second a marathon ending 15-13, to beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Jan Zielinski.
Murray had earlier won in the men’s doubles with Australian partner Michael Venus in three sets against Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler.
But that gruelling schedule did not stop Townsend from making the Scot do a forfeit alongside her for not serving well enough.
“It was punishment for me to keep bloody serving in the net,” said Murray.
“I was like blowing it all of the time. She was like, ‘oh my God, we should do some press-ups’.
“She did outlast me. I said to her ‘keep going, I don’t want to fail in front of all of these people’. I was happy to bow out after 10. I don’t like them.”
British pair Joe Salisbury and Heather Watson are also through to the third round after beating Nathaniel Lammons and Giuliana Olmos.
But Katie Boulter and her Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur were sunk in three sets by Joran Vliegen and Xu Yifan.
Seventh seed Andrey Rublev dived into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with an extraordinary shot to bring up match point against Alexander Bublik.
Rublev was in the middle of the baseline when Bublik hit what he, and everyone else on Centre Court, thought was a clean winner down the line.
But the Russian dived forward, got a racket on the ball and somehow floated it over the net.
“That is one of the great shots we’ve seen here in years,” exclaimed John McEnroe on commentary as Bublik scratched his head in disbelief.
Rublev, who had been two sets ahead but was pegged back by his opponent from Kazakhstan, went on to seal a 7-5 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-7 (5) 6-4 win after one of the most entertaining matches of the Championships.
“It was the most lucky shot ever,” said the 25-year-old. “It was luck, nothing else. I don’t think I can do it one more time.”
Rublev, in the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, was joined by fellow Russian Roman Safiullin, who became the lowest ranked male quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios in 2014.
The world number 92 upset Canada’s 26th seed Dennis Shapovalov 3-6 6-3 6-1 6-3.
He will face Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who beat Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia in straight sets.
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will not let herself get carried away by comparisons with Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021 after she stormed into the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display in a 6-2 7-5 victory against compatriot Anastasia Potapova in round three.
This victory in 95 minutes bettered her debut grand-slam showing of making the third round at Roland Garros last month and made it six wins in a row on grass after she came through qualifying.
Comparisons are already being drawn to Raducanu’s triumph at Flushing Meadow as a qualifier two years ago.
But Andreeva insisted: “Of course, in 2021 she did amazing job. Everyone was impressed. I think she was impressed also to pass the qualies and to win the slam at 18. It’s amazing but me, I just try to not think about it.
“I think it will disturb me, all these thoughts. I just try to play every match and don’t think how far I have gone already or which round I’m playing, against who I’m playing.
“I just try to play every point. Doesn’t matter against who, doesn’t matter which round. I just play my game. I don’t change anything mental-wise, tennis-wise.
“When I played my first match in qualies, I just didn’t have any expectations because it was my first match on grass. I just tried to give it all on the court.
“Since that first match, I actually found the right rhythm. Now it’s working pretty good, I can say. So, honestly, as I said, I did not have any expectations. I just play.
“I always say that it’s a game. The game will decide who will win the match.”
Andreeva lost the Australian Open juniors final in January before she grabbed headlines at the French Open with a fine run, losing in three sets to fellow teenager Coco Gauff.
In her defeat to Gauff, Andreeva put herself at risk of being defaulted when some youthful petulance saw her swipe a ball angrily into the crowd during a tense moment in the tie.
While she got away with a code violation, it appears to be a moment the Krasnoyarsk-born right-hander has learned from and when 4-1 down in the second set against Potapova, she showed impeccable poise to keep calm and book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.
Andreeva, who did allow herself the odd punch to the leg in tense occasions, revealed: “Honestly, after Paris I just had quite a long talk with myself, just me and myself, and that’s it.
“I talked to myself. I just talked. I don’t know, just in my head I realised some things. I took some decisions that I think are now important for me.
“I think I did a good job because now everything is working so far.”
Andreeva’s Wimbledon debut is taking place the year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from the event following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Her exploits in SW19 are being cheered on from her home country, with her grandfather Petr – on his birthday – among those cheering her on from afar.
“Today is the birthday of my grandpa,” the world number 102 said.
“They were watching my match, like 50 people that they invited. Today I received much more support, much more kind messages from my family.
“I spoke to my grandparents already. I said happy birthday. Today, yes, I can say that I received a lot of messages from my family.
“I also feel the support from Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people are supporting me.”
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her dream start to life on grass by storming into the last-16 at Wimbledon with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Anastasia Potapova.
Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, had to wait a day to begin her third-round match but again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display.
Andreeva’s victory in one hour and 35 minutes over her more experienced compatriot means her impressive grand-slam showing of reaching round three at Roland Garros in June has now been bettered.
She had never competed on grass before she started qualifying at Roehampton last week, but was able to chalk up a sixth consecutive win on the English lawn.
Potapova edged their first meeting in three sets last October and despite breaks being exchanged early on, Andreeva took control and won five of the last six games of the first set.
Further breaks were shared at the start of a much closer second set before Potapova moved 4-1 up.
Andreeva showed impeccable poise to keep calm and fought back to break in the seventh and 11th games of the second set to book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.
An emotional Andreeva, who has made no secret of her affection for two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, said on-court: “Of course I am really happy I managed to win this match.
“It was an amazing battle, she played really well and congrats to her and her team because they did a good job.
“I did everything I could. I gave my all and I come back in the second set from 1-4 so of course I feel great.
“I have been working on (my emotions) really hard with my coaches, with my parents, we talked a lot. Now I know it is easier or better to control my emotions on court.
“But today honestly even if I wanted to show some emotions, I couldn’t because I was out of breath on every point!
“I do enjoy the atmosphere, it is just amazing here. You see all the pro players, you see (Novak) Djokovic, you see Murray… yes the atmosphere is great and I hope next year I will be in a different locker room (for seeds) that is the level above!”
Matteo Berrettini would have “signed with my blood” to have the Wimbledon run he is putting together.
The 2021 finalist has been struggling with a recurring abdominal problem that forced him to miss the defence of his Queen’s Club title but is through to the fourth round after convincing victories over Alex De Minaur and Alexander Zverev.
Berrettini, who was forced out of Wimbledon last year by Covid, said on court after his third-round victory that he had spent many days crying in his bed as he fought to get healthy again.
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“If they told me a few weeks ago you’re going to play five days in a row in Wimbledon, I would have signed with my blood,” the Italian said later.
“I really spent days in bed thinking about the tournaments that I missed, the injuries that I had, sadness that I was feeling. I was like, ‘I have to come back and feel alive when I play’.
“That’s the energy I have right now. It doesn’t matter how tired I am. In the morning, go there, enjoy. I find that extra energy that maybe a few years ago I took for granted.”
Berrettini is unseeded with his ranking having dropped to 38 and he revealed he arrived in London with serious fears he may have to miss Wimbledon for a second year in a row.
“I wasn’t sure even if I was going to play,” he said. “I flew here and I said maybe the atmosphere is going to help me a little bit.
“I was really not sure about it. Not because I didn’t want to. In order to play a slam, you have to be ready physically, emotionally, mentally. There are many things.
“The will is not enough. But then I have to say I did a great job with my team. We worked really hard. They let me decide. A few days before, I thought, ‘I’m not ready’.
“But then I missed too many events in the last years. I couldn’t leave this place without trying. That’s what I said to myself. I think this place has something special. I feel a kind of energy I don’t feel anywhere else.”
Berrettini is one of the best grass-court players in the draw and he will next try to upset top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who is yet to go beyond the fourth round at the All England Club.
The Italian, who beat Alcaraz over five sets at the Australian Open last year, is looking forward to the challenge, saying: “In a way it’s what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world.
“Playing against Carlos, it’s always been a pleasure, a great fight. He’s the best player in the world. It’s going to be a great challenge. But I’m so glad that I have this opportunity right now.
“I remember watching him play at Roland Garros from my TV. Now it’s going to be me against him. I’m really happy for that. I think this is going to help me to go there and enjoy and find that extra energy that I was talking about.”
Zverev certainly would not be surprised to see Berrettini come out on top, with the German saying: “I told him that he can win the tournament if he plays like this.
“Of course there are other players that are great. He’s playing Alcaraz next. I think he’s a great player as well. But, if he plays like this, he has chances against anybody.”
Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka go head to head on Court One as Wimbledon hosts scheduled play on the middle Sunday for just the second year.
Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek headline the action on Centre Court as the singles competitions continue without the presence of any Britons.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day seven’s action.
Svitolina set for Azarenka battle
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Elina Svitolina had planned to watch Harry Styles in Vienna this weekend. Instead, the Ukrainian will once again be under the spotlight for taking on a player from Belarus.
Svitolina beat two Russian players at the French Open before falling to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. But she was booed in Paris for sticking to the Ukrainian position of not shaking hands with opponents from the two countries due to the ongoing war.
On Sunday, she faces Victoria Azarenka in the first Wimbledon match between someone from Ukraine and one from either Russia and Belarus since the war started.
Svitolina is well aware of the significance of the clash, saying: “A lot of Ukrainians will be watching, will be supporting me. I will go out there and put the fighting spirit on and just really fight for every single point.”
Middle Sunday action
For just the second time in its long history, Wimbledon will host scheduled action on the middle Sunday.
Up until last year it was always a day of rest, leading to ‘Manic Monday’ when all 16 fourth-round matches were played on one day.
This year’s play will be particularly welcome as the tournament is still playing catch up from indifferent weather in the first week.
There are some third-round matches still to be completed while a host of doubles and junior matches were cancelled on Saturday.
Match of the day
Hubert Hurkacz is the man who ended Roger Federer’s Wimbledon career when he won their quarter-final in 2021.
The Pole was then beaten by Matteo Berrettini in the semi-final, but he gets the chance to take down another big gun when he faces Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian is seemingly invincible on Centre Court so Hurkacz is going to have to channel that performance against Federer if he has any hope of prevailing and ending Djokovic’s reign.
Order of playCentre Court
Andrey Rublev v Alexander Bublik
Iga Swiatek v Belinda Bencic
Hubert Hurkacz v Novak Djokovic
Court One
Jessica Pegula v Lesia Tsurenko
Jannick Sinner v Daniel Galan
Victoria Azarenka v Elina Svitolina
Weather
Early thunderstorms will give way to more settled conditions
Katie Boulter conceded she was beaten by the “much better player” as her Wimbledon run came to an end with a crushing loss to defending champion Elena Rybakina.
Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last-32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.
Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering that ends home singles hopes at Wimbledon.
“Obviously a really tough match against a tough competitor,” said the 26-year-old. “I gave it my best today. I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully.
“She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learned a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match.”
After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.
Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.
Rybakina had not been convincing in the first two rounds after coming into the tournament under-cooked because of illness but she hit her stride straight away and the match quickly got away from Boulter.
The Kazakh possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she lost only nine points on serve throughout the match while hitting 20 winners.
Boulter admitted she has never faced a ball-strike quite like Rybakina’s before, saying: “Obviously it’s a lot quicker and the majority of girls, they don’t quite hit the ball like that. It’s quite flat. You don’t really see where she’s going. She disguises it very well.
“I struggled with it a lot today. It felt like I got into it a little bit at times and I started to pick up her ball but she was relentless at the end of the day. She was the much better player.”
Having to wait until so late to go on court after two long matches and a rain delay probably did not help Boulter, who nevertheless insisted she enjoyed the occasion.
“It was quite late,” she said. “Obviously it was my first match playing under lights. It was a little bit different and it took time for me to adjust on serve especially. I don’t think I quite found it.
“I will always reflect back on something positive. The crowd are incredible. I wanted to give them a bit more today, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that. But I appreciated them every single second I was out there.”
There are certainly positives to take from the grass-court season for Boulter, who won her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month, while she will be at a career-high ranking just outside the top 70 a week on Monday.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough night but I’m going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I’m at a career high,” she said.
“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues.
“I’ve got a great rest of the year ahead of me. I’ve got not many points to defend. It’s a really good opportunity for me to keep pushing my ranking up and really make a statement and play many more matches like today. They’re the matches that I want to be playing.”
It is not the end of Boulter’s Wimbledon, meanwhile, with the Leicestershire player due to contest her second-round mixed doubles match alongside boyfriend Alex De Minaur on Sunday.
“I’m sure tonight Alex will be giving me some words of wisdom,” she said. “I’m going to be ready to go tomorrow and enjoying myself and having fun. It will be a great way to end Wimbledon, for sure.”
Rybakina was delighted with her performance and she moves on to a fourth-round clash against 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
British interest in the Wimbledon singles is over after Katie Boulter’s chastening defeat to Elena Rybakina.
Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev both got through to the fourth round in four sets while Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka were winners in the women’s draw.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day six unfolded.
Alcaraz’s four-hour escape
Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, is generally regarded as the most likely contender to stop Novak Djokovic, but his title credentials came under real scrutiny in his third-round match with Nicolas Jarry.
The Chilean is currently enjoying a career-best ranking, but had only won one match at Wimbledon before this year, so it is perhaps no surprise that he did not know which side of Centre Court the players’ chairs were when walking out.
However, Jarry made Alcaraz work hard as he levelled at one set all and then was a break up in the fourth set, looking primed to take it to a decider.
But the Spaniard showed all of his battling skills as he won five of the last six games to seal a 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5 success in just short of four hours.
Celebrity cornerFokina’s late gift
When Alejandro Davidovich Fokina goes to bed tonight he will probably have nightmares.
Only he knows what possessed him to produce an underarm serve at 8-8 in his match-deciding tie-break against Holger Rune, which the Dane gleefully ran on to with ease and despatched a winner that gave him match point.
The sixth seed, who described the Spaniard’s serve as “crazy” and “unexpected”, duly obliged to book his fourth-round spot.
Tweet of the dayQuote of the dayStat of the dayShot of the dayPicture of the dayBrit watch
Home interest in the singles is over for another year after Katie Boulter’s Centre Court demise.
The British number one was the last Briton standing after Cameron Norrie, Andy Murray and Liam Broady all went out within 90 minutes of each other on Friday, but she was dismantled by defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday night.
Boulter, who won at Nottingham in the build-up, matched her best performance at this tournament but was outclassed by Rybakina, who won 6-1 6-1.
Katie Boulter was blown away by defending champion Elena Rybakina as British singles interest at Wimbledon came to an end in the third round.
Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last 32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.
Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court following two lengthy matches and a rain delay, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering.
After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.
Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.
She handled her status as favourite well to see off Daria Saville and Viktoriya Tomova in the first two rounds and was looking forward to having a crack at the defending champion.
Rybakina was a significant step up but the Kazakh had been shaky at times in her opening two rounds having come into the tournament under prepared because of illness.
She possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, though, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she hit her stride straight away.
Boulter has been working on adding more variety to her flat-hitting game but with options can come indecision and a couple of ill-advised drop shots cost her a break of serve for 3-1.
First-strike tennis usually favours Boulter but the power coming from Rybakina’s racket, particularly on her serve, was on another level.
The third seed, who remarkably is the first women’s defending champion to reach the fourth round here since Williams back in 2016, broke again for 5-1 and wrapped up the first set in 26 minutes.
Boulter’s support camp, including boyfriend Alex De Minaur, tried to lift her, and she halted the run of games against her at seven by holding for 1-2 in the second set.
That was as good as it got, though, with the score the same as last year’s third round, when Boulter lost to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.
It has nevertheless been a positive fortnight and a transformative grass-court season for Boulter, who will be ranked just outside the top 70 on Monday and now has the chance to really push on.
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